Sandisk and Micron Dominated the First Half of 2026. Which Is the Best Buy Now?

If you purchased shares of Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) and Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) banal astatine the opening of the year, you look similar an implicit genius close now. The stocks person performed remarkably well, with Micron rising 325%, and Sandisk delivering astir 900% gains. Most investors spot those returns implicit decades, not months.

But there's a increasing question investors indispensable answer: Is determination country for more, and if determination is, which banal is the amended 1 to buy? Let's instrumentality a look astatine these 2 and spot if the roller-coaster thrust is peaking oregon conscionable getting started.

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The AI build-out is driving monolithic maturation for these 2

Both Micron and Sandisk are representation spot makers. Micron operates connected some sides of the market, producing some DRAM and NAND memory, portion Sandisk is solely connected the NAND side.

NAND representation is non-volatile and tin clasp accusation adjacent if it loses power, making it large for semipermanent information storage. It's utilized successful devices similar solid-state drives (SSDs), and those are successful precocious request arsenic information centers are built retired crossed the nation.

DRAM representation is tailored for high-speed, accelerated callback purposes and gets deployed alongside almighty computing chips. So, whenever you perceive astir however galore much chips are being sold by companies similar Advanced Micro Devices oregon Nvidia, you tin instantly presume that Micron is benefiting arsenic well.

Demand for representation chips has reached unprecedented levels, spurred connected by the AI build-out. However, it's improbable request volition subside anytime soon, arsenic aggregate projections bespeak that 2026's elevated spending connected information is conscionable the start. In fact, Nvidia believes that planetary information halfway superior expenditures volition emergence to $3 trillion to $4 trillion annually by 2030.

That bodes good for the futures of Micron and Sandisk, and adjacent if they tin summation accumulation capacity, it doesn't mean that it volition beryllium capable to conscionable demand. As a result, I don't deliberation Micron and Sandisk are successful a bubble, and their valuations backmost that up.

Sandisk and Micron are each beardown picks

Both Micron and Sandisk run connected unusual fiscal years. Sandisk's ends successful June, portion Micron's ends successful August. As a result, I deliberation looking astatine adjacent year's fiscal twelvemonth (FY) projections is simply a astute idea. Wall Street believes that Micron's maturation volition beryllium 78% adjacent year, portion Sandisk's volition full 122%. There's intelligibly much maturation up for these two, yet their stocks aren't priced astatine a premium level.